The August 18, 1948 issue of The Exhibitor said that the Brainerd Theatre was designed by architects Gill & Bianculli. The latter was undoubtedly Mario Bianculli, and the former was most likely Harrison W. Gill Sr. Their collaboration may have been a one-off, as both soon became well-known architects in their own right.
This web page says that the CV Theatre closed on January 19, 1958. It also claims that the Bijou opened in 1904. Here is a Google street view of the building, now long occupied by Shippen Cleaners, at 47 S. Earl Street.
The November 1, 1934 issue of The Philadelphia Exhibitor noted that Joseph Shverha had taken control of the Roxy Theatre at Shillington and renamed it the Shillington Theatre. An RCA Victor High Fidelity sound system was to be installed. It was Shverha who would build the new Shillington Theatre on Lancaster Avenue in 1949, a project long planned, but delayed by wartime restrictions on new construction and post-war materials shortages.
Plans to build the new Shillngton Theatre were announced in the August 11, 1948 issue of The Exhibitor. It was being built for Joseph M. Shverha, owner of the original Shillington Theatre, and was designed by architect Francis Jobson of Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.
That does make sense. It seems much more likely that the magazine would misplace an item meant for Seattle into its San Francisco column than that Jack Tillmany would miss a name in a San Francisco theater’s history.
The Alvin Theatre had an unusual policy in 1924. The September 13 issue of Moving Picture World said that “[t]he Alvin Theatre, Mansfield, Ohio, which shows short subjects only, which was closed for the summer, opened recently.”
Mansfield’s Romanesque Revival style Opera House was opened in 1889 and was designed by Chicago theater architect Oscar Cobb, as was the adjoining Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Building, still standing and now housing the Mansfield Memorial Museum.
Partello took over the Opera House in 1924 and had it extensively renovated, according to an item in The Moving Picture World of September 13, 1924. The Opera House was not among the five theaters listed at Mansfield in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory, so was probably still a stage venue at that time.
Here is an item about the Park Theatre from the September 13, 1924 issue of Moving Picture World:
“The Park Theatre, Mansfield, Ohio, controlled by a local company of which W. A. Partello is the executive head, has been entirely remodeled. The entire gallery has been removed and the balcony enlarged.”
We have another page for the Lyric Theatre with information that conflicts with the description above. It says the first location of the Lyric was on 6th Street and the second location, opened December 6, 1913, was on 7th Street. Could it be that this house on 15th Avenue only ever operated as the Pastime? And if the first Lyric was in operation before December of 1913, I can’t account for its absence from the AMPD.
The Carpentier brothers, owners of the Strand Theatre, were probably the last owners of the Lyric Theatre. This item is from the September 13, 1924 issue of Moving Picture World:
“Charles and Emil Carpentier of East Moline, Ill., have added the Majestic and Lyric theatres of that city to their circuit, of which the Strand is the leading house. Oscar Komdat sold the houses to the Carpentier circuit.”
The Pastime is the only theater listed at East Moline in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory. The Lyric Theatre is mentioned in the April 8, 1922 issue of The Moving Picture World. As Fifteenth Avenue used to be called First Avenue, and the Pastime/Lyric was in the 900 block, this item from the June, 1911 issue of Motography could be about this house:
“A new building is being erected on First avenue, between Ninth and Tenth streets, East Moline, by Mayor Johnson and J. L. Greer, which will be occupied as a moving picture theater under the management of C. M. Larson and E. C. Woods.”
The July 3, 1920 issue of Moving Picture World had this item about the Strand:
“EAST MOLINE, ILL. — Henry Horst Company has contract to erect Carpentier Theatre at Tenth street and Fifteenth avenue, with seating capacity of 1,100, to cost $40,000.”
A November 20, 1954 Boxoffice item about the closing of the Majestic said that the Carpentier brothers had been lessees of the 40-year-old building since 1924. The Carpentiers were the owners of the Strand Theatre, which they had opened in 1921.
A November 20, 1954 Boxoffice article about the closing of the Majestic Theatre named the operator of the house as Emil Carpentier, and noted that he would remain active in the theater business with his son George, operator of the Strand, East Moline’s last movie theater. He also had a brother named Charles, also interested in the East Moline Theatres Corp., but in 1954 he was serving the first of three terms as Illinois' Secretary of State.
The June 26, 1920 issue of The American Contractor has an item about contracts being let for a $100,000 theater at East Moline for a G. Carpentier, and it gives the name of the architect simply as Garside, of Davenport, Iowa. I’ve searched extensively and can’t find any other references to an architect of that name, so I suspect it might have been a typo, though Garside is a real (but not very common) surname.
The papers of architect Otto H. Thorman show that he designed alterations for the Colon Theatre in 1943. The original architect of the 1919 theater was Percy W. McGhee.
Jeff Berg’s Historic Movie Theatres of New Mexico says that the Mission Theatre was built by Rod Bason in 1937. The records of architect Otto H. Thorman list an unnamed theater at Mesilla Park designed for Rod Bason that year.
The October 5, 1966 issue of Motion Picture Exhibitor had this item about the remodeling project then underway at the Cinerama Music Hall:
“The Cinerama Music Hall Theatre will undergo a $75,000 remodeling project between the closing of ‘Khartoum’ Sept. 6 and the opening of ‘Is Paris Burning?’ Nov. 17. The street-level exterior will be resurfaced with Italian travertine stone with marbled blending of light brown and cream. The marquee will be restyled, new entrance doors of anodyzed aluminum are planned. Redecoration of the lounge and lobby will include new carpeting and drapes. Architects for the work are Crane, Kiehler, and Kellogg, a firm that has been involved in the building and redesigning of more than 900 theatres.”
The September 21, 1966 issue of Motion Picture Exhibitor said that the new Trans-Lux Theatre in Harrisburg was slated to open that night with “Doctor Zhivago.”
Plans for this theater were announced in the September 14, 1966 issue of Motion Picture Exhibitor, though it appears that completion of the project was delayed long past the projected opening date.
“New Neighborhood House
“RICHMOND, VA.—Neighborhood Theatres, Inc., announced that a new, deluxe motion picture theatre will be built in Springfield, Va. The location of the theatre will be on a piece of land owned by the company on the south side of Keene Mill road across from the Springfield Plaza Shopping Center. Opening is planned for Easter, 1967.
“The architects for the project are Vosbeck and Vosbeck Associates of Alexandria. The new Springfield Theatre will be of modern design, incorporating all the new techniques of motion picture exhibition. It will be one of the largest houses in the Neighborhood chain, not only in seating capacity, which will be approximately 1000, but also in square footage. The company announced that it plans to use American Seating Company’s Stellar Chairs in the theatre and that they will be widely spaced for patron comfort. Other details of the theatre include a canopy over the drive-in lane to shelter patrons from the elements; a modern, spacious lobby; individual vanities in the ladies rest room; a gigantic 60 foot screen; 35/70 millimeter projection equipment; and a large parking lot.”
A couple of the comments above are about the first San Pedro Outdoor Theatre, opened at another location in 1948. The tentative opening date for this second location was September 1, 1966, according to The August 31 issue of Motion Picture Exhibitor. Here is the article about it:
“The Moon Also Rises At Texas Drive-In
“SAN ANTONIO, TEX.—John Santikos, owner-operator of the new San Pedro Twin D-I now under construction, said that there will be ‘year round moonlight.’
“The artificial moonlight, an added attraction at the theatre complex, will be a revolutionary lighting process to give the effect of moonlight over the entire 20 acres.
“Under completion, the new $500,000 D-I will be one of the city’s largest, boasting two screens with a 725 car capacity on one side and 525 on the other side.
“For those who desire a snack while watching the movies, architectural plans have included a cafeteria-style snack bar located between the two screens. Additionally, a 50 by 100 feet children’s playground in the same area will have a landscaped patio area with seating for those not wishing to remain in their cars.
“Tentative opening date is scheduled for Sept. 1 with live entertainment, attendance prizes and gala opening ceremonies.”
The August 24, 1966 issue of Motion Picture Exhibitor said that Mitchell Abromowitz of Roselyn, Pennsylvania, was the architect of the new Fox Enterprises theater slated to begin construction shortly at the Country Club Shopping Center in Langhorne. The single-screen house was to have 1,000 seats.
The August 18, 1948 issue of The Exhibitor said that the Brainerd Theatre was designed by architects Gill & Bianculli. The latter was undoubtedly Mario Bianculli, and the former was most likely Harrison W. Gill Sr. Their collaboration may have been a one-off, as both soon became well-known architects in their own right.
The Carlisle Opera House opened on September 1, 1898 with a performance of John Philip Sousa’s comic operetta “El Capitan.”
This web page says that the CV Theatre closed on January 19, 1958. It also claims that the Bijou opened in 1904. Here is a Google street view of the building, now long occupied by Shippen Cleaners, at 47 S. Earl Street.
The November 1, 1934 issue of The Philadelphia Exhibitor noted that Joseph Shverha had taken control of the Roxy Theatre at Shillington and renamed it the Shillington Theatre. An RCA Victor High Fidelity sound system was to be installed. It was Shverha who would build the new Shillington Theatre on Lancaster Avenue in 1949, a project long planned, but delayed by wartime restrictions on new construction and post-war materials shortages.
Plans to build the new Shillngton Theatre were announced in the August 11, 1948 issue of The Exhibitor. It was being built for Joseph M. Shverha, owner of the original Shillington Theatre, and was designed by architect Francis Jobson of Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.
That does make sense. It seems much more likely that the magazine would misplace an item meant for Seattle into its San Francisco column than that Jack Tillmany would miss a name in a San Francisco theater’s history.
The September 13, 1924 issue of Moving Picture World ran this item:
The Lyric was one of two movie theaters in Roseville that were being mentioned in the local newspaper in 1926, the other being the Rose Theatre.Here’s a puzzling bit of news from the September 13, 1924 issue of Moving Picture World:
We have two other theaters in San Francisco with the aka Class A, but neither of them was ever called the Capitol.The Alvin Theatre had an unusual policy in 1924. The September 13 issue of Moving Picture World said that “[t]he Alvin Theatre, Mansfield, Ohio, which shows short subjects only, which was closed for the summer, opened recently.”
Mansfield’s Romanesque Revival style Opera House was opened in 1889 and was designed by Chicago theater architect Oscar Cobb, as was the adjoining Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Building, still standing and now housing the Mansfield Memorial Museum.
Here is an item about the Park Theatre from the September 13, 1924 issue of Moving Picture World:
We have another page for the Lyric Theatre with information that conflicts with the description above. It says the first location of the Lyric was on 6th Street and the second location, opened December 6, 1913, was on 7th Street. Could it be that this house on 15th Avenue only ever operated as the Pastime? And if the first Lyric was in operation before December of 1913, I can’t account for its absence from the AMPD.
The Carpentier brothers, owners of the Strand Theatre, were probably the last owners of the Lyric Theatre. This item is from the September 13, 1924 issue of Moving Picture World:
The Pastime is the only theater listed at East Moline in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory. The Lyric Theatre is mentioned in the April 8, 1922 issue of The Moving Picture World. As Fifteenth Avenue used to be called First Avenue, and the Pastime/Lyric was in the 900 block, this item from the June, 1911 issue of Motography could be about this house:
The July 3, 1920 issue of Moving Picture World had this item about the Strand:
A November 20, 1954 Boxoffice item about the closing of the Majestic said that the Carpentier brothers had been lessees of the 40-year-old building since 1924. The Carpentiers were the owners of the Strand Theatre, which they had opened in 1921.
A November 20, 1954 Boxoffice article about the closing of the Majestic Theatre named the operator of the house as Emil Carpentier, and noted that he would remain active in the theater business with his son George, operator of the Strand, East Moline’s last movie theater. He also had a brother named Charles, also interested in the East Moline Theatres Corp., but in 1954 he was serving the first of three terms as Illinois' Secretary of State.
The June 26, 1920 issue of The American Contractor has an item about contracts being let for a $100,000 theater at East Moline for a G. Carpentier, and it gives the name of the architect simply as Garside, of Davenport, Iowa. I’ve searched extensively and can’t find any other references to an architect of that name, so I suspect it might have been a typo, though Garside is a real (but not very common) surname.
Otto H. Thorman should be listed as the architect of the Mission Theatre.
The papers of architect Otto H. Thorman show that he designed alterations for the Colon Theatre in 1943. The original architect of the 1919 theater was Percy W. McGhee.
Jeff Berg’s Historic Movie Theatres of New Mexico says that the Mission Theatre was built by Rod Bason in 1937. The records of architect Otto H. Thorman list an unnamed theater at Mesilla Park designed for Rod Bason that year.
The October 5, 1966 issue of Motion Picture Exhibitor had this item about the remodeling project then underway at the Cinerama Music Hall:
The September 21, 1966 issue of Motion Picture Exhibitor said that the new Trans-Lux Theatre in Harrisburg was slated to open that night with “Doctor Zhivago.”
Plans for this theater were announced in the September 14, 1966 issue of Motion Picture Exhibitor, though it appears that completion of the project was delayed long past the projected opening date.
A couple of the comments above are about the first San Pedro Outdoor Theatre, opened at another location in 1948. The tentative opening date for this second location was September 1, 1966, according to The August 31 issue of Motion Picture Exhibitor. Here is the article about it:
The August 24, 1966 issue of Motion Picture Exhibitor said that Mitchell Abromowitz of Roselyn, Pennsylvania, was the architect of the new Fox Enterprises theater slated to begin construction shortly at the Country Club Shopping Center in Langhorne. The single-screen house was to have 1,000 seats.